'Don't Tell Me Jokes.' Robin Williams' Revealing 1998 Interview

Among his many talents, Robin Williams was a great interviewee. As Time magazine's Belinda Luscombe put it, Williams "managed to leave in awe even the most seasoned reporters." Luscombe spoke to the late star in 2011 in anticipation of his first appearance on Broadway in a serious play.

That was evident in 1998 when Williams agreed to talk with Veja magazine, Brazil's leading weekly news magazine. The acclaimed Brazilian film critic Rubens Edwald Filho interviewed Williams when the actor was promoting the fantasy drama "What Dreams May Come," a film based on the novel by Richard Matheson in which Williams played an American physician who embarks on a journey through the afterlife to reunite with his love.

Robin Williams (PHOTO: AAP)

During the interview, Williams talked about many topics, including life after death and his battle with drugs. Below are some excerpts.

On whom he would like to be in another life:

A great musician. Who plays sax, but ferociously. Whoever listens to me playing sax may thing I am agonizing. I also would like to come back as a physician, like my brother. It would be great if I could come back as an Einstein who played the violin very well.

On his choice to act:

My father, who was a very intelligent man, one day came to me and said: look, I don't want to spend money on a political science course for you if you end up not working with that. Then I went to theater school and I never stopped working. I was possessed by the profession of actor.

On being famous:

From the point of view of being in the public radar, comedians have less problems than other actors. Action movie stars like Stallone or Schwarzenegger usually attract the more aggressive fans. We certainly pay a price for fame, which can be higher or lower, depending on the moment we are. The bad thing about being a famous comedian is that every now and then someone approaches me to tell an old joke. Don’t tell me jokes, I have that. People also say the weirdest things, sometimes sarcastic things, and even evil things. They like to provoke to get a reaction. Kids are fund though. I once met a little girl who was shocked when she found out that I did the voice of Genie in Aladdin and I wasn't blue.

On his relationship with critics:

It's hard when you read an article saying bad things about you. It is as if someone is sticking a knife on your heart. But I am the harshest critic of my work. It's like having this interior voice which disapproves me all the time. But sometimes it is that voice which admits that I did something right.

On his battle with drug addiction:

I used to visit a psychiatrist who said it was okay to snort cocaine, as long as I could keep it under control. Then one day I found out that he was snorting much more than me. Drugs have a seductive effect. The bad thing about it is that they started to dominate you, to control your life. I quit doing drugs when I found out my wife was expecting our first child. I wanted to be a part of the whole process. I also knew that becoming a father also going to be crazy and problematic enough without drugs. People use drugs because they are trying to avoid something. I swear that people who quit drugs end up finding things much more valuable in life.

On being nominated for four Academy Awards for his work in dramatic roles:

The Academy prefers the dramas, even though the comedies are responsible for the success of the movie industry. Academy members may think it's easy to do comedy. They only gave Charles Chaplin an Oscar when he was 80 years old. One of my favorite comedians, Peter Sellers, never won an Oscar.

On his life after winning an Oscar:

Nothing really changes. In Hollywood people are nice to you just in the first week after the ceremony. Then they are like, 'Oh, you just won an Oscar, right?' Three weeks after the big party people are already thinking about the next year's Oscars. Life goes on. Winning an Oscar is an honor, but, between you and me, it does not makes things easier.

On his process to choosing parts in films:

I act as a child who does not want to be bored. I don't make plans, because that's something that German officials would do. People thing I try to alternate comedy and drama roles, but that's not true. I know I've made movies that can be considered very weird, and my career has more ups and downs than a roller coaster. That's because I live by the opportunities, which are not always in the same level. To me, all that matters is the pleasure in the job. How big the character which I will be playing is not important. I played a small role in Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry because, at some point, I made him laugh. Can you imagine? To make Woody Allen laugh!

On working with Woody Allen:

Woody is very specific, he knows exactly what he wants and he doesn't lose time with small talking. But what is curious about his method is that actors do not get the entire script, just what they supposed to do in the day. So when we all meet up, we begin to talk and ask each other about our roles, in order to try to understand something about the movie we are making. That happened to me and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She told me that, at some point, her character would perform oral sex with her lover in front of her blind grandmother. I thought to myself, that part is very interesting. Better than mine...

On acting in supporting roles:

Of course I have a big ego. Do you know any movie star who doesn't have one? But when I get the script and I know it is good, all I want is to be a part of the project, which is something that overcomes vanity.

On playing characters based on real life people:

It's more difficult. An example is my character in Awakenings. I could have just imitated Oliver Sacks, but that would've probably made him uncomfortable. So I did a new Sacks in the movie.

His thoughts on heaven and hell, based on his role in what Dreams May Come:"

To be honest, I don't think I would be an example in either places. The funny thing about heaven in this picture is that it doesn't have a God or a rabbi. In the United States this has made some people apprehensive. What I can tell about the subject is that it was better than acting in an action movie filmed in space. Vincent Ward made my mind about making this movie. When it comes to convincing people of something, he is better than a drug lord.

His thoughts on reincarnation:

What annoys me about reincarnation is that almost everybody was someone special in a previous life. They were always Cleopatra and other famous historical figures. Nobody has even been a guy named John, who was jobless and one day died. As a result, that makes me skeptical about the thing. But maybe only those who had a really nice life are about to remember it. Maybe that's the case.

In 2009 Williams also made headlines in Brazil after appearing on David Letterman's show on the day Rio de Janeiro was announced as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. He joked that Rio won the bid to host the games instead of Chicago, which had Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama on its team of personalities promoting the city's candidacy, because Brazilians presented the members of the International Olympic Committee with "50 strippers and one pound of cocaine."

Can I apologize now? It is about that joke I did. I read an article about robbery and kidnappings in Brazil. Then they chose Rio, you know? I found out that some Brazilian politics were very angry at me. And all I could say in Portuguese was 'Tudo bem?' and 'Obrigado'. I said that Chicago sent Oprah and Michelle Obama, while Brazilians sent strippers and cocaine. Damn, I offended everybody! I'm sorry! That's what happens in comedy. When you cross that line, some people will laugh and some people will get offended.

I'm a journalist covering everything from media issues to the world of that very particular group of people who are just as rich as they are media shy. I also write about my native country of Brazil and its growing importance as a global player, from a Brazilian-who-spends-...